Page 39 of The Devil and His Goddess (Sinners Do It Better #2)
Harper
MY BODY SHOOK AS HANDS jostled my shoulder lightly. I groaned and blinked my heavy eyes open to find Aiysha beaming down at me from beside the bed.
“Aiysha?” I asked groggily.
“Wakey, wakey! It’s almost ten.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked, running a sleepy hand over my face.
I looked around the dimly lit bedroom for Perseus, but the demon was nowhere in sight. Seeing as it was a Friday and the day before Christmas Eve, he was probably at Silverlight, getting his dancers ready for a weekend of The Nutcracker performances.
“I’m here on an important mission,” Aiysha declared as she straightened and held up two extremely full bags that overflowed with red and green clothes, tinsel, and jingle bells. “We’re going to get into the holiday spirit.”
I raised my brow at her. Normally, I’d leap to my feet and bounce around the house as I prepared for my favorite time of year. But that spirit Aiysha wanted to bring out of me was struggling to come. I’d managed to get out of the room and to the dance studio everyday for the past couple of days, but I still wasn’t any closer to feeling better. The warm-ups and exercises brought me a certain sense of returning to myself, but the minute I turned on the music and faced the mirrors, I’d freeze up again, unable to get past my reflection.
Aiysha smiled and wiggled excitedly as she waited for me to get up. My heart lurched, because it had been so long since I’d seen her this bright. I couldn’t crush her enthusiasm because of the lack of my own.
Offering her the smallest grin I could, I got up from the bed and followed her into the bathroom. While I showered, she unloaded the bags, which held a plethora of Christmas themed clothes and accessories. She caught me up on her final grades for the semester—straight A’s, of course—as well as her plans as she moved into her final semester of the year.
That wasn’t the biggest news, though. Brenden had finally asked her to be his girlfriend.
“About time,” I chuckled weakly as I stepped out of the shower in a towel.
“That’s what Addie said, too,” Aiysha laughed. “Iyla said he asked just in time for Christmas and wants to know what he ends up getting me.”
“Details we all want to know.”
Even as the words left my mouth, lead weighed my shoulders down. I knew I hadn’t been a good friend to Aiysha lately. I’d been too lost in my grief to check in about her and Brenden. I was just glad our new friends had been there to share in her excitement. She deserved it.
Once dry, Aiysha got me into a red sweater with a fuzzy Christmas tree in the center and some leggings patterned with colorful Christmas lights. She blow-dried my hair and styled the long black strands into curls before depositing reindeer antlers with gold bells on my scalp. She pulled her own black hair into a bun and wrapped tinsel around it. She donned her own ugly Christmas sweater, and after she applied a little bit of make-up on our faces, she gave me an approving nod.
“Excellent,” she cheered with a radiant smile. She grabbed her phone and mumbled, “Now, let me just check something …” Her smile lifted, something I hadn’t even thought possible considering how large it already was. Shoving the device into her jeans, she grabbed my hands and pulled me to my fuzzy-socked feet. “Okay! Let’s go!”
“Where are we going?” I asked as she opened the bathroom door.
She didn’t answer me, but as I drew near the closed bedroom door, a whiff of something sweet filled my nose. I sniffed the air again, confirming the smell of baking cookies. But Perseus was surely at work. It was only Aiysha and I here, so who …
Aiysha stopped by the door and gestured at it. “After you.”
Curious about the source of the smell, I stepped into the hallway and started toward the living area. The scent of baking sugar cookies grew stronger, as did the faint sound of voices and classical music. As I drew closer to the main space, I recognized the soundtrack for The Nutcracker playing, but more than that, a warm, feminine laugh trickled to my ears. My eyes widened, and I sucked in a sharp breath as I froze in my tracks. I listened to the sweet sound, sure I had misheard. When it was joined by many more familiar laughs, I realized I hadn’t heard wrong at all.
The familiar voices snapped me back to reality, and a surge of adrenaline had me racing down the hall and through the archway of the living room. Standing across the vast room, around the kitchen island, was my family. My parents, my brothers, Aiysha’s parents, and her siblings. They huddled around the island, rolling out cookie dough as Perseus pulled a batch from the oven before replacing it with another.
Todd, one of my younger brothers, spotted me. His blue eyes brightened, and he abandoned his cookie dough to race toward me. “Harper!”
I sucked in a shaky breath as tears pooled in my eyes, and I met him halfway, falling into his bear hug. Even though Todd and Mitch were 16 and 14, the teen boys were a good head taller, and my petite frame fit easily in their arms.
“Took you long enough to get out here,” Todd laughed, releasing me just in time for Mitch to wrap me in his hold.
I squeezed him tightly as he picked me right up off my feet and shook me around like he was trying to break me. I laughed at his outrageous hug, even as I threatened to burst from how hard he held me. The suffocating hug had never felt sweeter.
“You came out just in time,” Mitch said as he set me back on my feet. “I was about to come in there and throw all of this cookie dough at you.” He swiped some of the sticky dough that covered his hands onto my nose.
I didn’t even care. My glassy eyes darted between my brothers. They hadn’t changed much since I saw them last. Todd still had the same floppy black hair and dusting of a potential beard on his chin. Mitch was still a few inches shorter than his older brother, with his close-shaven hair and bright blue eyes. They wore matching red-and-white Christmas sweaters with green text that declared they’d trade their sister for presents.
Laughing, I looped my arms around each of their necks and got on my tiptoes as I held them tightly once more. When I released my brothers, my mom and dad were right there with their equally dark hair and light eyes. They quickly pulled me into their arms.
“Surprise!” Mom squealed as she hugged me.
“Did we do good keeping this a secret?” Dad asked, smiling down at me.
“I had no idea,” I answered with another laugh, wiping the happy tears from my face. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Your boyfriend invited us in for the holidays,” Todd said and pointed at Perseus, who watched all of us with a warm smile from his place at the island.
“Yeah,” Mitch chimed in. He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms as he griped, “How could you not tell us you’re dating Perseus from Sinners Do It Better? Do you know how much I love that band? I can’t believe you kept your famous boyfriend a secret from us!”
I opened my mouth to correct them about Perseus being my boyfriend, but Perseus spoke before I could.
“I’m not that famous,” Perseus argued, only to be called a liar by my brothers.
With stars in their eyes, the two rejoined him at the island. I knew my brothers were into the type of music that Sinners Do It Better created, but I could never keep up with all the bands they were into. Knowing that Sinners Do It Better was one of Mitch’s favorites made the situation we found ourselves in even more surreal.
“We’re getting the cookies started before we decorate,” Mom revealed as she took my hand and pulled me alongside her.
I joined my family at the island, though not before falling into Mr. and Mrs. Jackson’s arms for a hard squeeze. Aiysha’s little brother, Dion, and her sister, Sierra, were next, and my heart warmed more and more with each embrace.
I took a place between Perseus and my mom with my brothers across from me. Everyone else found whatever spare space they could around the large marble island. The Nutcracker soundtrack continued to play from the TV speakers, just like every Christmas, and that tradition made the glee filling my chest that much brighter.
I didn’t hear Tchaikovsky and spiral into a world of grief. I didn’t hear Swan Lake melodies amid The Nutcracker ones. Instead, the classical music spurred a euphoric feeling of home, of family, of loved ones.
“So how are you feeling?” Mom asked as she gave me dough to roll out and cut with the dozens of cookie-cutter options. She smiled at me, but I saw the worry in the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. “Perseus said you got injured, so you were taking time off of ballet to recover.”
The hint of pain in her otherwise cheerful tone told me the real questions she wanted to ask.
What happened?
Why didn’t you tell me something was wrong?
Are you okay?
I couldn’t answer her. I didn’t want to answer her. I was so fucking happy—happier than I’d been in nearly a month—and I didn’t want to ruin this moment by going down that road.
So I wore a grin and began to work on my cookies. “It’s just a typical overworked muscle injury. I’ll be fine at the start of the new year.”
Her light eyes tightened as she studied me for a sign of the lie. She’d always had a scary ability to tell when something was wrong with me, Todd, or Mitch. Thankfully, she looked away and let it go. Maybe she knew I needed this. I needed to be with them and enjoy every little moment without that darkness swooping in.
“Here you go,” Perseus said softly as he placed an empty baking sheet near me. His green eyes snagged mine, and the tenderness in his gaze made my chest tighten. “For your cookies.”
I smiled, feeling a surge of yearning rising up. He’d done this. He’d brought my family here to his home, opened it up for us to make a mess of it with cookies and holiday decorations. Hell, he even wore a damn sweater with a llama decked out in Christmas lights and a Santa hat. For me . This demon had done all of this for me .
A ball of dough suddenly hit Perseus square in the chest. His eyes widened as he watched it fall to the floor, and we both whipped our heads around to find the source of the rogue food.
“Don’t stare at my sister like that,” Todd ordered with narrowed eyes. “We haven’t grilled you yet to make sure you’re worthy.”
Perseus smiled. “I’m not. I never will be.”
The response made the air in my lungs that much thinner. How wrong he was.
“No, you’re awesome,” Mitch declared with a sparkle in his eye as he stared at Perseus. He quickly leaned into Todd and hissed, “Dude, he’s Perseus . Look at his house. He flew us in and paid for the rental we’re in while here.”
Sierra smacked the back of Mitch’s trimmed head. “Money isn’t everything, dummy.”
Mitch looked doubtful as he rubbed his head. “It’s pretty good, though.”
The teenagers exchanged looks and eventually nodded in agreement.
The exchange had happiness blooming in my chest, and the feeling didn’t fade as the day continued. Everyone had a thousand questions for Perseus about his band, being my boss, and being my boyfriend—because apparently that was what we were in everyone’s eyes. A couple.
I wasn’t mad about that.
We finished making multiple batches of sugar, gingerbread, and chocolate chip cookies. Everyone cleaned up before dispersing to decorate the house with all of the decor Perseus had secretly bought and had hidden until today.
By the time we finished, a fourteen-foot tall tree with twinkling white lights stood in the corner by the wall of ceiling-high windows. Greenery decorated the mantle below the TV with six stockings hanging there since my parents and brothers would be staying through Christmas Eve and Christmas. Tinsel, winter figurines, and more glitter than should be legal was spread throughout Perseus’s house. We’d completely taken it over with our antics, but he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, I hadn’t seen him smiling like this since before .
While we decorated, Mitch and Todd poked at me to dance to The Nutcracker , but since I couldn’t due to my “injury,” the two did so for us. The burly boys twirled and leapt around the living room, looking far more like newborn giraffes learning to walk than a danseur. It had everyone laughing hysterically, and poor Aiysha had to demonstrate how to do a lot of the moves they failed at, which earned her a round of applause.
Day gave way to night, so the Jacksons left for the evening. Perseus placed an order for pizza for those of us left, and while we waited for the food to get here for our Home Alone movie marathon, my mom and I finished putting out the final decor touches in the kitchen.
“Thank you guys for coming,” I said to Mom, unable to wipe the grin off my face. My cheeks hurt from all the smiling I’d done today, but I didn’t mind in the slightest.
She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and pulled me in to rest the side of her graying head against mine. “We’re so happy to be here, honey. And that sweet Perseus. When Aiysha called to say he’d invited us all in for the holidays, I was shocked. For one, you hadn’t mentioned anything about a boyfriend, and a very handsome one at that. If only I were single and a bit younger.”
“Mom!” I laughed.
She chuckled and lightly bumped my hip over her joke. She continued, “He apparently wanted to do our Christmas traditions here with you, and right when I found that out, I knew he was a good man.”
The teasing air was replaced by a sweet warmth that made it hard to speak. “Yeah. He is.”
I looked out into the living room where Perseus sat on the couch with my brothers. The two boys had only gotten more star-struck as the day went on, and my dad was equally impressed by the young and successful man. The three Ashwood men gathered around Perseus as he played Christmas songs on the guitar. I thought Mitch might burst into tears right then and there, seeing as he was getting a personal concert from one of his idols.
Mom released me from her arms to grab my hand atop the counter. She squeezed it, so I looked back at her. “I know you’ve had a hard time lately. Don’t deny it, because your momma can see it in both you and him. I won’t pry. I only bring it up now to say that we’re all here for you.” Her dark eyes moved to the living room at the sound of her boys growing excited. She smiled and added, “I’m glad he’s here for you, too.”
I followed her line of sight as her words wrapped around me and settled into my bones.
Mitch was waving a permanent marker at Perseus and begging, “Sign my forehead. Please!”
Perseus’s brow nearly rose into the golden hair that draped over his forehead as he stared at the fourteen year old like he’d fully thrown sanity to the wind. He looked over his shoulder at my dad for guidance, but my dad merely shrugged and rolled his eyes. “It’s Christmas time. Go for it.”
Perseus blew out a surprised breath but turned back to Mitch with his own shrug. He took the black marker and signed my brother’s forehead.
“Holy shit!” Mitch squealed as his eyes rolled back in an effort to look up at his forehead.
“Don’t say, ‘shit,’” Dad chastised.
“Sorry,” Mitch apologized meekly before raising his fingers to reverently touch the black ink on his face. “He really signed me. Perseus signed me! I might cum.”
Todd curled his lip in disgust as Perseus fought his laughter. My dad gave another roll of his eyes, unphased by his son at this point.
My brothers proceeded to pose with Perseus, snapping a plethora of photos with him and even calling in my dad to take some of all three of them. The love I had for the people in this room and the scene playing out before me had emotion gathering behind my eyes.
But more than that, my mom’s words continued to play on repeat in my head.
I wasn’t alone. I had my amazing parents and crazy brothers. I had Aiysha and her family.
I had Perseus—my demon, my peasant. I wasn’t alone, and I hadn’t been this entire time. Through every tear, every nightmare, every terrible moment where I’d been less than alive, he’d been right by my side. He’d endured every bit of that horrible storm with me.
And as those smiling green eyes met mine across the room, I finally felt the clouds begin to part. The sun’s warm rays shined down, and the butterfly unfurled her wings.